Catholic News Agency reports on an icon commissioned by FOCCUS Marriage Ministries depicting St. Bridget of Sweden with her husband Ulf Gudmarsson and their eight children. The article emphasizes family unity and natural marriage bonds while quoting “Pope” Benedict XVI’s concept of the “domestic church.” Iconographer “Father” Richard Reiser consulted Gudmarsson’s skeletal remains to determine relative heights, claiming this honors “historical accuracy.” The piece celebrates FOCCUS’ 40th anniversary and new marriage inventories for “unusual situations” like military couples and deacons.
Naturalism Displaces Supernatural Grace in Sacramental Theology
The iconographic process betrays a materialist mindset antithetical to true Catholic tradition. Reiser’s consultation of skeletal remains to determine proportions (“His bones indicated that he was significantly larger in stature than she was”) substitutes archaeological naturalism for lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief). True iconography follows established prototypes precisely because they convey theological truths, not anatomical accuracy. As Pius XII condemned in Mediator Dei: “Archeologism… is neither wise nor prudent which would resurrect… obsolete forms.”
FOCCUS’ executive director Sheila Simpson claims St. Bridget’s life “beautifully reflects the heart of marriage ministry,” yet the article omits Bridget’s post-widowhood mystical revelations approved by pre-conciliar Popes. This reduction of a mystic saint to mere marital counselor aligns with the modernist heresy condemned in Pius X’s Pascendi: “Faith is limited to what is perceptible to the senses and experience.”
Conciliar Sect Corrupts Sacramental Purpose
The icon’s inclusion of Benedict XVI’s quote exemplifies the conciliar sect’s corruption of marriage theology. Contrast this with Leo XIII’s Arcanum: “Marriage… has God for its Author… and is… a great sacrament of Christ and the Church.” Benedict XVI’s “domestic church” concept substitutes sociological analysis for sacramental reality, reducing the indissoluble bond to natural companionship.
FOCCUS’ new inventories for “unusual situations” continue this naturalism. Pius XI’s Casti Connubii declares marriage’s ends as “the procreation and education of offspring… and the mutual help and the allaying of concupiscence.” No exceptions for “military couples” or “first responders” modify these immutable ends. The article’s silence on contraception, abortion, or indissolubility reveals FOCCUS’ alignment with neo-modernist relativism.
Omaha “Archbishop” McGovern Blesses Synthetic Piety
The blessing ceremony by “Archbishop” Michael McGovern exposes the conciliar sect’s invalid claims to authority. As Pius XII established in Sacramentum Ordinis, valid episcopal consecration requires proper form, matter, and intention – all doubtful in post-1968 rites. McGovern’s participation lends false legitimacy to FOCCUS’ modernist program, exactly as Pius X warned in Pascendi about modernist infiltration: “They introduce their doctrines little by little… without exciting suspicion.”
Symbolism Reveals Anthropocentric Shift
Reiser’s symbolic choices confirm the anthropocentric heresy:
- Children forming a circle: Represents naturalistic unity rather than hierarchical family order under Christ the King (Quas Primas)
- Staff with shell: Exalts earthly pilgrimage over supernatural destination
- Bluebells as national flower: Elevates natural patriotism over heavenly citizenship
True Catholic iconography directs gaze heavenward, as the Council of Trent decreed: “Through images… the people are instructed in the articles of faith.” This icon’s focus on familial affection without reference to mortification, judgment, or eternity inverts proper spiritual priorities.
Conclusion: False Piety Masks Doctrinal Corruption
While invoking a pre-conciliar saint, this entire project embodies the conciliar sect’s modernist deformation. The article’s glowing tone about “family holiness” camouflages rejection of Casti Connubii‘s teaching that marriage “in its own nature is ordered to the common good.” Until FOCCUS unequivocally condemns contraception, divorce, and false ecumenism – and repudiates all post-1958 “magisterium” – its work remains a dangerous parody of authentic Catholic marriage preparation. As Our Lord warned: “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). These poisoned fruits require complete rejection by faithful Catholics.
Source:
‘Holiness of family life’: A look behind the icon depicting a mother of 8 (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 13.12.2025